Category: Web Designing

All great web design layouts start as PSD files before becoming web pages. Those who want their websites to have a custom design have to make sure they know how to convert plain layouts into active web pages. This method is known as slicing. It isn’t rocket science, but it requires a certain level of coding knowledge. Many people lack this knowledge, so they can either go for ready-made these or make use of a PSD to WordPress conversion service.

The biggest advantage of such services is that you can have a custom WordPress theme for your website or blog, without needing to write a single line of code. You can even sell unique designs to your clients, and then deliver them a fully functional theme. This is the dream of all art directors and designers who can create awesome layouts, but who lack the knowledge required to slice them and turn them into HTML or WordPress websites.

All you need to do to have your PSD design converted into a WordPress theme is to upload your design files and your specific requirements. Most of these services use experienced coders to slice your designs and turn them into web pages. Nonetheless, if you don’t want to benefit from manual coding, you can use an automated conversion service. They aren’t too bad, but you’d need to go through the files of your theme and make the required adjustments to optimize the code for search engines. If you don’t have any PHP and HTML knowledge, you should probably go for manual conversions, as they are performed with search engines in mind. Besides, manually created themes are thoroughly tested for bugs, crashes, and other known problems. The result is going to be a perfectly functional, ready to use WordPress theme. All that’s left for you to do is to install it on your website and define all your pages, menus, widgets and other elements. You may also need to upload your logo, but this is very easy to do, so you shouldn’t encounter any problems.

Last but not least, by using manual PSD to WordPress conversion services, you can rest assured you’re going to have the specific theme you want, as these companies would work with you until you are fully satisfied with the result. Automatic services don’t offer you this privilege. However, some of them are free of charge, so if you are financially challenged, you could use them to start with. Next, with a little bit of learning, you can tweak the resulting WordPress theme by yourself to make it suit your needs. You’d have to spend more time on your project, but you’d save the money you may not have.

As you can see, there are at least two ways to obtain a fresh and unique WordPress theme from a PSD layout. If you do care about your business, you should make sure your potential clients are going to remember your website, so consider making it unique.

Designing a website is about far more than choosing colors and graphics. There are many factors that should go into creating a robust design. If your goal is to create website magic, you should avoid all of the following mistakes.

Using Flash Graphics

These probably make sites look nice, but they are a real pain when it comes to slowing down page load times. They are also unfavorable since search engine spiders cannot read Flash. Your best bet would be to use graphics created with a different program.

Focusing Solely On Search Engine Spiders

You need to appeal to search engines if you want to rank well, but that does not mean this should be your only focus. It is also essential that you to make sure that your site is appealing to your intended audience.

Choosing Fancy Font

You might believe that this would make a site more eye-catching, but the reality is that you will only make it hard for some people to read the information provided. You need to ignore all of the fancy fonts and stick to something that is basic, like Arial or Times New Roman.

Forgetting To Provide Contact Information

There is nothing worse than having someone head to the contact section of your site, and they are greeted with a “Coming Soon” message or a generic form. If you believe they will jump through hoops to find a way to get in touch, you are wrong; they will just head somewhere else to get what they need.

This means that you should offer your full details; incomplete information will not do. Address, phone number, email address and social media links should all be provided. The more methods of contact you provide, the more likely it is people will use it.

Providing Broken Links

If people are given an error page every time they hit a link on your site, they will eventually stop clicking. It is your responsibility to make sure that every link works as it should. This means that you will have to check everything periodically instead of adopting a “set it and forget it” approach.

Bad Grammar Mistakes

Yes, that was purposely misspelled to give you an idea of how people feel when you they are on a website, and they are greeted by the grammar that leaves a lot to be desired. If you are not a wordsmith, that is fine, but you should always spellcheck everything to make sure that there are no errors. In fact, check it several times in case you missed anything the first couple of times you double-checked your content.

Forgetting About Mobile Users

You cannot expect everyone using your site to have the same type of device. As a result, you should concentrate on making the site accessible to all. Responsive web design is a concept that is based on the idea that people with all screen sized should have the opportunity to see quality content. Mobile use is on the rise, and it makes perfect sense to appeal to these users. Your site should look just as nice on a small phone screen as it does on a full-sized desktop monitor.

If you are a website designer, make sure that you remember not to make any of the mistakes that were mentioned here. The idea is to make your page appealing search engine spiders as well as the end user. This will not happen if you ignore this advice and commit any of these web design crimes.